Hello everyone and welcome to this great Troy conference. I am the scribe for the first half of this meeting. The topic of today’s meeting is : Do you believe the glorious Trojan War actually happened in history? You will see the best debaters fighting for the truth based on the existing discoveries!
Debater 1(Con):
Since we’re all here at this meeting, there should be no one who doesn’t know about the fascinating Trojan War in Homer’s epic. Of course, if you do, please go and consolidate your high school knowledge immediately. Our side’s point is that the archaeological work has no need to continue. Our predecessor Heinrich Schliemann had already discovered the correct location of the city-state in the 19th century, at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey.
Debater 2(Pro):
In that case, why do you say that there is no need to continue the excavation? Archaeologists have already proven the existence of the ancient city of Troy through numerous excavations at a very early stage, and have continued to rebuild and expand it from Troy I to IX. I also have to mention that Schliemann found jewelry from Princess Helen on the site of Troy II.
Debater 1(Con):
Come on, we all know that’s a lie. In a way, Schliemann was great, in terms of his findings about the original site of Troy. But you just can’t use the rest of his discoveries as evidence, for what he did afterward was extremely immoral and fraudulent. First, he succeeded in finding the ruins with the help of Charles MacLaren and Frank Calvert, but in his subsequent reports, Schliemann did not include their names, choosing to keep them to himself. And in his following archaeological activities, he abandoned a great deal of archaeological evidence that only accounts for the city of Troy, but not that legendary Trojan War. He’s just like the famous fraudulent archaeologist James Mellaart that Joe introduced last time, overwhelmed by fame and their own fantasies. Schliemann could make up anything to find his Trojan War, including putting a bunch of jewels on his wife’s head and claiming that they were Helen’s.
Debater 2(Pro):
Then we also have evidence from later periods. In the historical record of the Hittites(later Turkish civilization) during the Late Bronze Age, 1750-1180 B.C., “Wilusa” and “Illios” appeared together, corresponding to Homer’s description of Troy. The excavated tablet also mentions that the ruler Alaksandu (another name for the Trojan prince Paris) fought with Ahhiyawa (another name for Greeks) for Wilusa. Isn’t that a piece of evidence for battle?
Debater 3(Con):
True. But when did the war happen?
Debater 4(Pro):
At the end of the Bronze Age. Look at this! This relic is a weapon of the Mycenaean civilization found on the site of Troy and dates back to 1180 B.C. Isn’t that the end of the Bronze Age?
Debater 5(Con):
So you believed that Trojan War happened during Troy VI or VII period?
Debater 4(Pro):
Exactly.
Debater 5(Con):
Then, my friend, I have to tell you that your speculation is not valid at all. The most important feature of the Troy VI and VII periods is the immensely well-fortified city walls, which are indeed the same as those described in Homer’s epic. However, through archaeological as well as geological investigation, we can be sure that the main destruction of the city was not by fire or massive war, but by the earthquake. Moreover, the population size of the city rebuilt on this basis is similar to that of the pre-earthquake population, without the addition of a foreign Greek army.
-(half-time)-
Hello! My name is Jacky Zhang and I’m a sophomore majoring in Art&Art History. I was intrigued by our discussions in class about the Greek Sculptures, and their modern interpretation. So I made this web post about archeological discoveries of the legendary Trojan War, trying to share this interesting debate with people who are curious about this concept.
